Why COACH? Please share your story!

#46
My story,

When I young teenager, back in 86 my older sister that I admired bought herself a Coach bag. It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen! I still remember it, she had gotten her first real job after college and bought a Coach bag. She had the matching rayon shorts suit to match a la Pretty Woman style, it was just so fashionable with that Coach bag. It was the red leather Willis without the dowel and she still has it, I asked her about it a few weeks ago. That bag left a lasting impression! I said to myself when I grow up I'm going buy myself a Coach bag too and I have bought myself numerous bags over the years but alot more now that I've joined TPF. So, that's how I got into Coach.

I think the funniest things are that I really like siggy stuff over leather and especially the Legacy line-don't like it and I actually spend less per bag now than when I first bought my own bag in college in the 90s. I do have leather bags but no Legacy. The leather is paper thin compared the stuff they used to put out 15-20 years ago, it really used to be thick, unlined glove tanned leather made in the USA. I can't imagine what a comparable bag today would cost had they kept up the quality and still manufactured in the USA. The lack of quality, they make up for it in customer service and return policy, that's their saving grace.
 
#47
For me, it is all my daughter's fault! :lol:

A few years ago she bought me a Coach tote with the horse & carriage print in sateen gray with black trim. I really liked the bag, but eventually I learned that most Coach has matching accessories....hhmmm. So off to ebay I went. In the search for a matching wallet I came upon a black leather gallery tote quite by accident. My eyes were like :loveeyes:.

I kept coming back to that bag over time. Eventually I gave in an bought it. And the rest is a closet full of history. :lol:

BTW, the matching wallet was a small one so I never got it, but I did get the matching wristlet! And that leather tote? It was the smaller version of the one my daughter had and I never realized it.
 
#48
My story is similar to many of yours - growing up I had always been aware of Coach, but not that much into it. I think the first time I really wanted a Coach item I must have been a teenager at AAFES, looking at a cute print coin purse - Tattersall, maybe? It was definitely white with bright colors. But it was too expensive for us, with two sisters in school going to college soon and a disabled mother.

Then in college, of course, came the dislike of the rampant signature Coach and Foach everywhere. But when I drove home for the holidays I would always stop at the outlet mall, and sometimes I would swing into Coach for just the hell of it. I always wanted at least three of the leather purses! But alas, no spare funds.

And then one time I saw these signature stripe coin purses, in the most BEAUTIFUL shade of green with parchment leather running down the front. I was smitten dispite my dislike of the signature print. I bought two - one for me and my sister. We both still use them to this day.

But that was all years ago. The Coach OBSESSION started just a few months ago, and I know exactly what triggered it - a lovely woman, carrying some kind of medium robin-colored leather stachel on her arm. I was waiting for my mom at the Bethesda medical center, and it was instant, instant love. My old purple leather bag was dead and my current purse wouldn't hold my ipad, and somehow in the next couple of weeks I found the Coach Factory site. And when I got my silver leather duffle and Candace in graphite/berry...oh, it was true, true love. I currently have five bags, with a sixth on the way, and going to buy a seventh as soon as I get that PCE code. I cannot help it! The Legacy line with the funky colors in classic shapes is my downfall.
 
#49
I grew up in a trailerpark, only child to a pretty much single mother (step father was absentee for a good portion of their 8-year marriage). We had no money, I wore clothes from K-Mart, but let me tell you I had every Barbie doll under the sun :P Since we had no money, my mom and I never paid attention to designer anything. I wasn't even aware of Coach until maybe high school or college.

I went to college at Kent State University, which is known for their fashion program. On campus, Project Runway was THE program to watch on TV, and I started to pay a little attention to fashion, designers, labels, etc. I remember seeing girls using Coach totes to carry their books around campus, while I was carrying around a Nike bag or some other nameless tote. I always figured they came from affluent families since I had absolutely no idea how much money the bags cost. It was luxury and I was envious.

There was one girl in my English lit class who carried a brown signature stripe tote every day. That class was in the winter/spring 2004, so everyone was tracking snow throughout the halls and classrooms. I always sat there in complete SHOCK when she'd throw that beautiful bag right in the middle of a puddle by her feet. Even if mommy and daddy bought that bag for you, why would you do that?! Don't you realize that must have cost like $500?! (Yeah... no idea about cost...) I had about $200 in my bank account and still got clothes from Kohls, Fashion Bug and Target clearance sales, so after that English lit class I put Coach out of my mind because I felt I'd never be able to afford it.

I finished college in 2008 and got my first job within my career field. After a few months of making "big bucks" (ha!) I somehow remembered that brown Coach signature stripe tote, how glamorous I thought it was, how insane I thought that girl was for practically destroying it with muddy water, and I decided to check out prices since I worked a few miles away from the local mall/boutique. I was shocked that they were considerably less expensive than what I originally thought, so I decided that maybe I'd buy one. My little "I made it" statement. I bought the Chelsea Heritage Stripe Satchel in Khaki sometime in 2008/2009 along with the Legacy Signature Checkbook Wallet and Mini Skinny. I thought I was on top of the world. I carried that bag for maybe a year, and then I slowly started adding to my collection, a new bag every 6 months-1 year at the start.

4+ years later I have 10 bags and 5 wallets/wristlets, and there's no turning back! I may like the look of other brands, but Coach is special to me because not only are they nice bags, they're something I never would have dreamed of owning even 5 years ago.
 
#50
CashmereFiend said:
Hah!:roflmfao: You are too much, Emilybug! Love the "antique brass harlot." I completely understand! ;)

For me, it was during an outlet trip just before Christmas that I really fell hard for Coach. Up until that point, it was more of a casual flirtation (bought maybe 1 every 2-3 years, when my meager student funds permitted). I found a rectangular soho flap shoulder bag in black leather, and the details knocked me cold- the quality of the exposed white stitch-work, the precisely designed square corners, the retro style of the moon-shaped buckle... It was like a perfectly functional, expertly crafted work of art, and I loved it. It was still expensive on my student budget, but felt so worth it. I wore that bag a TON and it still looked almost new after 1-2 years.

After that, I got my real job and went back to the outlet just around the time FP Legacy (2007) hit the outlets, and that cemented my love of the brand.

I was helpless in the thrall of 2007 Legacy, then obsessed with Madison and Kristin.

Sadly, I'm not terribly jazzed about ANY bag at FP right now.... Which is like a six-year first for me. Not a single one. I keep tabs, though, and keep hoping something new and exciting will pop up.

Until then, I've amassed plenty of bags I love, and I'll be using those. I may finally snip the tags on (gasp!) blue ombré large Sabrina, which has always felt like a summery bag to me.

Love reading all these stories! Nice thread topic, Op. :biggrin:
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Lol, love your story! It's so much fun to read others' stories about how certain details on a bag lured them in and made their hearts stop! Only on TPF can we get away with such purse candor and not be judged as crazy!

I was a huge Kristin fan as well, and have a nice little collection of them, along with my Madisons. I'll admit, too, that nothing at FP is interesting to me right now either. I'm a bit bored at the moment, but like you said, I've got plenty of bags to keep me occupied! Also, I've started a small, but growing, RM collection. I just needed a slight change of pace!
 
#51
LaterDays13 said:
I grew up in a trailerpark, only child to a pretty much single mother (step father was absentee for a good portion of their 8-year marriage). We had no money, I wore clothes from K-Mart, but let me tell you I had every Barbie doll under the sun :P Since we had no money, my mom and I never paid attention to designer anything. I wasn't even aware of Coach until maybe high school or college.

I went to college at Kent State University, which is known for their fashion program. On campus, Project Runway was THE program to watch on TV, and I started to pay a little attention to fashion, designers, labels, etc. I remember seeing girls using Coach totes to carry their books around campus, while I was carrying around a Nike bag or some other nameless tote. I always figured they came from affluent families since I had absolutely no idea how much money the bags cost. It was luxury and I was envious.

There was one girl in my English lit class who carried a brown signature stripe tote every day. That class was in the winter/spring 2004, so everyone was tracking snow throughout the halls and classrooms. I always sat there in complete SHOCK when she'd throw that beautiful bag right in the middle of a puddle by her feet. Even if mommy and daddy bought that bag for you, why would you do that?! Don't you realize that must have cost like $500?! (Yeah... no idea about cost...) I had about $200 in my bank account and still got clothes from Kohls, Fashion Bug and Target clearance sales, so after that English lit class I put Coach out of my mind because I felt I'd never be able to afford it.

I finished college in 2008 and got my first job within my career field. After a few months of making "big bucks" (ha!) I somehow remembered that brown Coach signature stripe tote, how glamorous I thought it was, how insane I thought that girl was for practically destroying it with muddy water, and I decided to check out prices since I worked a few miles away from the local mall/boutique. I was shocked that they were considerably less expensive than what I originally thought, so I decided that maybe I'd buy one. My little "I made it" statement. I bought the Chelsea Heritage Stripe Satchel in Khaki sometime in 2008/2009 along with the Legacy Signature Checkbook Wallet and Mini Skinny. I thought I was on top of the world. I carried that bag for maybe a year, and then I slowly started adding to my collection, a new bag every 6 months-1 year at the start.

4+ years later I have 10 bags and 5 wallets/wristlets, and there's no turning back! I may like the look of other brands, but Coach is special to me because not only are they nice bags, they're something I never would have dreamed of owning even 5 years ago.
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This is a great story! I'm so glad you finally got what you deserved and that you treat yourself continuously! I understand what you mean; Coach has a special place in my heart too, and even if I stray, I always come back!
 
#53
I got my first Coach bag around 2004 or so. It was a Hamptons black leather carryall. It looked classy. I loved the pockets, and it was back in the days of the d-ring for you keys. The detail I loved was the contrast stitching in cornflower blue. I felt so classy carrying it, and I got so meant compliments.

When I graduated from college, I knew I wants to find a "nice handbag" to take to work. (The rest of my list included nice shoes and a nice watch. I ended up getting a Movado at an outlet and that was a bust, I was so disappointed after coveting one since age 12.)

I had expensive taste early on. I have been wanting a Kelly bag since around age 10. I thought it was pretty. I had no idea how much they were until well in my 20s.

I ended up picking coach for my first nice bag because my aunt had (and still has) a bag she received as a gift sometime in the 80s. It was her daily/only bag through well into the 2000s and she recently just got a replacement.

Any bag that lasted that long was the one for me.

So I saved up a for a few months to get my new carryall. The stars aligned, and I ended up getting the matching sling backs on clearance a few months later. Sadly, that bag wasn't meant to be my forever bag. After about 18 months the handle broke. I took it in for repair. They weren't able to fix it, so Coach gave me a full refund in store credit. I was so impressed with the service and commitment to quality, I have been a fan ever since. But sadly, when my credit arrived, there were no perfect black bags to replace it. I ended up getting an orange ergo hobo. And a keying or something. And spent the next 7 years like Cinderella looking for the perfect black bag fit (it rests at an MK Selma for now, but I am thinking of jumping up to a Ferragamo Sophia, which reminds me of my first love Kelly)

As for those matching shoes? Well I still have those kitten heeled sling backs. They have been through some heel replacements. The biggest issue now is that the coach fabric tag became detached. They are in my stack right now to head off to shoe repair. And to be quite honest? The hardly look worse for wear. Hey could use a shine, but other than the heel replacement and a few scuffs from a sidewalk grate, they still look pretty good. I can't bare to part with them. How's that for longevity.
 
#54
LaterDays13 said:
I grew up in a trailerpark, only child to a pretty much single mother (step father was absentee for a good portion of their 8-year marriage). We had no money, I wore clothes from K-Mart, but let me tell you I had every Barbie doll under the sun :P Since we had no money, my mom and I never paid attention to designer anything. I wasn't even aware of Coach until maybe high school or college.

I went to college at Kent State University, which is known for their fashion program. On campus, Project Runway was THE program to watch on TV, and I started to pay a little attention to fashion, designers, labels, etc. I remember seeing girls using Coach totes to carry their books around campus, while I was carrying around a Nike bag or some other nameless tote. I always figured they came from affluent families since I had absolutely no idea how much money the bags cost. It was luxury and I was envious.

There was one girl in my English lit class who carried a brown signature stripe tote every day. That class was in the winter/spring 2004, so everyone was tracking snow throughout the halls and classrooms. I always sat there in complete SHOCK when she'd throw that beautiful bag right in the middle of a puddle by her feet. Even if mommy and daddy bought that bag for you, why would you do that?! Don't you realize that must have cost like $500?! (Yeah... no idea about cost...) I had about $200 in my bank account and still got clothes from Kohls, Fashion Bug and Target clearance sales, so after that English lit class I put Coach out of my mind because I felt I'd never be able to afford it.

I finished college in 2008 and got my first job within my career field. After a few months of making "big bucks" (ha!) I somehow remembered that brown Coach signature stripe tote, how glamorous I thought it was, how insane I thought that girl was for practically destroying it with muddy water, and I decided to check out prices since I worked a few miles away from the local mall/boutique. I was shocked that they were considerably less expensive than what I originally thought, so I decided that maybe I'd buy one. My little "I made it" statement. I bought the Chelsea Heritage Stripe Satchel in Khaki sometime in 2008/2009 along with the Legacy Signature Checkbook Wallet and Mini Skinny. I thought I was on top of the world. I carried that bag for maybe a year, and then I slowly started adding to my collection, a new bag every 6 months-1 year at the start.

4+ years later I have 10 bags and 5 wallets/wristlets, and there's no turning back! I may like the look of other brands, but Coach is special to me because not only are they nice bags, they're something I never would have dreamed of owning even 5 years ago.
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i like your story. i feel the same way when i see people just taking anything i find significant - for granted. i am weird about babying everything in my life. my family, my friends, my stuff. LOL. so i get that part of the story. i'm glad you found your way to college and have a solid career....

me and my husband are working class people and i want my kids to know there is no pre determined decisions about where they will go in life - they for sure can go to college and be professionals...its just up to them to WANT it! :smile:
 
#55
my story:

i have been obsessed with handbags from birth. lol.

i used to cut up my moms clothes / or use towels to make myself bags. (before i worked and made money to buy my own) this was like age 7/8

as soon as i made my own money, i bought bags from stores like kmart, meijer- way too often...in hind site - buying a new cheapy purse for $20 EVERY WEEK was a huge waste of money.

but as soon as a cheapy bag starts to fall apart (which is almost instantly) i was done with it.

i have always been a bit of a purse snob - in the sense that i don't understand women who use cheap crappy purses that have been beaten to hell. even if its your favorite bag in the world...if the handle is hanging on by 1 string...WHY??? AHHH!?!?

but in every other aspect of my life - i'm totally down to earth and appreciate a good value/ or better - quality.

When i was about 17-i had a boss who thought one of my cheapy purses was a Coach purse and complimented me on it...i didn't know what Coach was and he explained...he said its a really expensive brand of purses. Expensive? like $75 or 80 bucks? i asked...he laughed - I WISH he said - they are like $200 (this was about 1992-3) his wife insisted on ONLY coach bags...WOWOWOW....thats too much i said to him (but in my head i thought-i could see that if it was the RIGHT bag)...needless to say that 1 conversation peaked my interest!

i searched for years for the COACH duplicate to that cheapy bag - he had confused mine for - because - as it turned out - i really liked that cheapy bag....

i searched stores and stores...when the internet got popular and they got a website - i search and searched..NOTHING.

Finally, i decided the willis bag (the original) MUST have been it.... it was similar - sorta.

nope, i FINALLY figured it out about 3 years ago - the mysterious COACH bag twin was none other than the Vintage Court BAG! - AND YES my cheaper bag bought from Meijer was almost an exact duplicate!! LOL i guess they didn't care about knock offs so much back then.... of course, had mine been an ACTUAL COACH court bag, i would still have it. My cheapy bag died about 2 years in. Sad sad sad...

anyway...thats my story. i'm cheap - BUT i appreciate quality and love bags. i could buy cheap no-name bags - but they die. So imo they are a much BIGGER waste of $$$... so i buy quality and have them forever. i have never sold any of my COACH bags - i say i will...but i won't. LOLOLOL
 
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#56
In 2007/2008, Coach became really popular around here. Or at least that's when I noticed the brand (we live in a very small rural town). It seemed like everyone had one of these "expensive designer bags," except me. Everywhere I looked, there was another gorgeous bag with the expensive C's. I would covet them so badly, ashamed of my Kohls bag. I began to stalk the Coach website, but I knew I couldn't spend $200-$400 on a purse. And I didn't want just a wristlet or something small.

I went to the outlet mall, 90 minutes away, and saw they had a Coach Outlet. But I was too shy to go in. I thought the SAs would all be snobby and laugh at my Kohl's purse. How silly that seems now! In summer 2009, I was too afraid to enter. In September 2009, I finally got the courage! And what did I discover? Friendly SAs and much, much cheaper prices than I imagined. I bought a brown siggy lunch tote for $139 and I loved that bag! I carried it EVERY DAY for 13 months!

In October 2010, I splurged again and bought a black patent MFF kisslock carryall. I decided to put my brown one on Ebay, because who needs more than one purse, right? That brown tote sold for $90!! I've never been more surprised before! You mean I can pay $139 for something, use it for approximately 400 days (13 months) and then sell it for $90 + shipping?!! Maybe Coach isn't that expensive in the long run.


That began my Buy One/Sell One phase. It didn't last very long. Soon, I bought bags that I really loved and couldn't part with. And I still wanted new ones. I discovered this forum, and learned about deletes. Soon, I began making the 3 hour round-trip to the outlet every month. Then twice a month. I began couponing for groceries to buy more Coach. Laid off my cleaning lady to buy more Coach. Began asking for just Coach for Christmas/Mother's Day/Birthday. Became utterly OBSESSED. :nuts: Is there a cure for this?
 
#57
I don't have much of a story, but I do seem to have a history of actively disliking brands and then suddenly adoring them. Coach is one of them.

I love leather bags and have some beautiful leather bags by other less known designers, though still a bit pricey. I had D & B, Barr and Barr and Pietro Allessandro (made in NY...a black hobo was my favorite for ages). I had friends that really liked Coach, we have a Factory Outlet fairly near us, but those double Cs never appealed to me, I have never liked siggy bags of any sort.

Then, about three years ago, I spent a rare day at the mall with a friend. We went into a Coach Boutique and I was mesmerized with the leather and colors. I was determined, no obsessed, with getting a bag of my own. Since I live so far away, I picked out the bag I thought would work best for me online, the large patent Camel Sophia, and called the boutique and they shipped it to me. That is also how I began my phone relationship with that store and it's SAs.

When it arrived, I was so happy. Lovely box, ribbon, sweet note from the SA. I was really at a stressful point in my life, and to me, it was a little slice of luxury. Once I started carrying the bag, I realized I had found the ultimate functional style bag for me in the large Sophia. Over the next year, I ordered as many as I could afford, especially when I heard it was being discontinued. I ended up with four total, the additional three being black, white, and even a purple op-art that surprisingly garners tons of compliments (since I still dislike siggys).

After they stopped making the large Sophia, I tried replacing her with the next best thing, the Lindsey. I have three, Safflower, Aegean, and Crimson. Beautiful colors, but they are not as functional as my Sophias. Too deep. I still enjoy them, but not enough to buy more. Besides, I was not thrilled with the colors being put out.

I really like the Legacy line, but as I am into a really big bags, could not find a perfect one, though I did get a violet Penny off the bay the other day to use mostly as a wristlet. It was about the time the Legacy line came out that the service at my beloved boutique really tanked, and I started to take an interest in LV. Being a leather lover, I had always thought people a little nutty for paying so much for coated canvas, and I could not afford LV leather.

I really fell for the style of the Azur Neverfull, and when I got my first LV, I could not believe how beautiful and lightweight it was. I ended up with two Neverfulls (both Damier since I still don't like siggys), but am back to checking around other brands, as nothing LV or Coach in my price range is really speaking to me currently. I am interested in Balenciaga, but have some concerns over leather quality right now.

And the purse saga rolls onward...
 
#58
I started my career in business in the 80's. For reference, our "uniform" was a skirt suit, a long sleeved blouse, sometimes with a bow at the neck, stockings, and pumps. I worked for one of the large international accounting firms, and they were very conservative. Once, when it was hot, I rolled up my sleeves, and my senior asked me who said I could do that. So I rolled them back down. I noticed some of the women had really cute purses. They were Coach, of course. I bought two basic bags, in Navy and Tabac. I could barely afford them, since my husband was in grad school. I think they were $50 or $60 each. I also bought a briefcase. A couple years later I bought a saddle bag purse.

Fast forward to 2012, when I walk into Savers and see a large vintage duffle in British Tan in immaculate condition. For $25. Wow! I snatched that up so fast their heads spun! Soon after I found this forum and especially the Rehab thread, where I found out how to renew tired looking old bags. OMG. I have become obsessed with vintage Coach, and have been keeping Savers and Goodwill in business. I was just cleaning out my closet and I counted 47 Coach bags, all vintage. I really need to stop. It actually makes me feel kind of sick that my husband will notice this obsession, if he hasn't already.
 
#60
I had never really heard if Coach. One day I was admiring a bag my SIL had. It turned out to be a coach. I never really thought about the brand again until about a year later when I picked up a bag at a yard sale. I was so happy! I had gotten my first coach that turned out to be...a fake. A bad one at that.
The next day my husband took me to the outlet here in town and I wasn't totally impressed at the time but in the back of my head I thought about it. I had to have a real one.
About another year later I knew I was getting one. I got some Christmas money and the next day I took my niece to the outlet. I NEEDED a bag and I walked around the crazy busy store for about an hour and picked out a signature satchel.
I carried it and flaunted it. I was so proud and that bag made me feel good. In the end I sold it. I just didn't like that particular bag but I never turned back. I bought more and more still looking for the perfect one (I still am. Lol).
I go through phases and I try to give up Coach but I can't. I relapse and I relapse hard. I've bought 2 in the past week.
I just love the brand and I don't know why. I do mostly buy them second hand now but I love to clean them up and give them new life!!
I am a tomboy t shirt and jeans wearing girl but I wear my bags like I'm a rock star!!
 
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